Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Nikita Scherbak skated with the North Star and Spartak 1995-born teams in Moscow. He had 10 goals with 3 assists in ten games for North Star and scored 5 goals with 7 assists and 10 penalty minutes in 13 games with Spartak.

2011-12: Scherbak skated for North Star – which finished 12th of 18 teams in Moscow’s junior league. He scored 22 goals with 19 assists in group play and had 3 goals with 9 assists in 34 games during the league season.

2012-13: Scherbak made his debut in Russia’s U22 MHL as a 16-year-old; skating for Stupino Kapitan. He scored 7 goals with 7 assists in 50 games and was -8 with 60 penalty minutes. Scherbak was selected by Saskatoon of the WHL in the second round (109th overall) of the 2013 CHL Import Draft.

2013-14: Scherbak moved to North America to play for Saskatoon in the WHL and represented Russia in international play for the first time – skating for Team Russia in the 2013 Subway Super Series against Team WHL. Scherback scored 28 goals with 50 assists, both team highs and was -6 with 46 penalty minutes in 65 games for the Blades. Saskatoon missed the playoffs, finishing sixth in the East Division. Scherbak had 1 assist in Russia’s 3-2 win over Team WHL and was selected to play for Team Cherry in the 2014 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. He was ranked 15th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Montreal in the first round (26th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

2014-15: Scherbak signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens in July 2014 before returning to the WHL; skating for Everett in his second season in the league after being acquired by the Silvertips from Saskatoon in a trade in September 2014. Everett’s leading scorer, he scored 27 goals with 55 assists and was +33 with 60 penalty minutes in 65 regular season games. The Silvertips finished first in the U.S. Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Scherbak scored 3 goals with 5 assists and was +5 with 10 penalty minutes in 11 playoff games. He skated for Russia in the Subway Super Series against the WHL All-Stars — finishing with no points and 2 penalty minutes in two games — but was not selected to skate for Russia in the World Juniors.

2015-16: Scherbak skated for Montreal AHL affiliate St. John’s in his first pro season. Missing time in November and December due to injury, he steadily worked his way into a prominent role for the IceCaps and was playing some of his best hockey at the end of the year. In 46 games he scored 7 goals with 16 assists and was -25 with 18 penalty minutes. St. John’s missed the AHL playoffs, finishing fifth in the North Division.

Talent Analysis

Scherbak has the tools of a fine scoring winger. He is quick, agile and has great endurance. His wrist shot is released quickly and is both hard and accurate. He has the ability to make a play out of nothing with crafty stick work and a pivot that fools defenders. He tends to shy away from contact in the dirty areas and corners, relying more on positioning and using his stick to chip away at pucks. Scherbak's defensive side of the game has drastically improved. He has the ability and passion to be a top-six winger at the NHL level.

Future

Scherbak made his pro hockey debut as a 19-year-old, skating for Montreal AHL affiliate St. John's in 2015-16. Slowed by an injury in November, he had the struggles with positional play not uncommon for a player his age but displayed some highlight reel offensive ability and developed some nice chemistry with fellow Canadiens' prospect Charles Hudon. Scherbak is expected to be an important part of the Montreal attack when he is NHL-ready.

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